Automated actions for facilitating remitting resources
Systems and methods electronically obtain data regarding a plurality of sources and corresponding amounts of resources received from the sources for a plurality of relationship instances each associated with one or more respective domains of a plurality of domains. For each relationship instance of the plurality of relationship instances: the system electronically identifies a rate to calculate an amount of resource due to one or more respective domains associated with the relationship instance based on a source of a resource received for the relationship instance and the one or more respective domains and calculates an amount of resources due to at least one respective domain associated with the relationship instance based on the identified rate. For each domain of the plurality of domains, the system aggregates a total amount of resources due to the domain based on the calculated amount of resources due for each relationship instance associated with the domain. The system may then prepare and send, via a computer network, a reporting document to a system of the domain indicating the aggregated total amount of resources due.
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The technical field relates to computer networks, and particularly to networked automated systems for facilitating remitting resources.
BRIEF SUMMARYThe present description gives instances of computer systems, devices and storage media that may store programs and methods. Embodiments of the system may determine resources according to different digital rules based on a source of a resource received for a relationship instance and one or more respective domains associated with the relationship instance, and facilitate remitting such resources.
In some embodiments, a system for facilitating remitting resources electronically obtains data regarding a plurality of sources and corresponding amounts of resources received from the sources for a plurality of relationship instances each associated with one or more respective domains of a plurality of domains. For each relationship instance of the plurality of relationship instances: the system electronically identifies a rate to calculate an amount of resource due to one or more respective domains associated with the relationship instance based on a source of a resource received for the relationship instance and the one or more respective domains; and calculates an amount of resources due to at least one respective domain associated with the relationship instance based on the identified rate. For each domain of the plurality of domains, the system aggregates a total amount of resources due to the domain based on the calculated amount of resources due for each relationship instance associated with the domain. The system may electronically prepare a reporting document indicating the total amount of resources due to the domain and an amount of resources already remitted to the domain for the plurality relationship instances. The system may then electronically send, via a computer network, the reporting document to a system of the domain.
Providing, in a timely and efficient manner, accurate and reliable determination of resources for datasets according to different digital rules for different sources of a resource received presents a technical problem for current Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software applications. This problem is exacerbated when multiple different digital rules must be applied to the same dataset associated with a particular relationship instance in order to remit resources to multiple different domains associated with the particular relationship instance.
The present disclosure provides systems, devices, computer-readable media and methods that solve these technical problems by increasing the speed, efficiency and accuracy of such specialized software platforms and computer networks, thus improving the technology of ERP software applications and accounting applications.
Therefore, the systems and methods described herein for facilitating remitting resources improve the functioning of computer or other hardware, such as by reducing the processing, storage, and/or data transmission resources needed to perform various tasks, thereby enabling the tasks to be performed by less capable, capacious, and/or expensive hardware devices, enabling the tasks to be performed with less latency and/or preserving more of the conserved resources for use in performing other tasks or additional instances of the same task.
As shown above and in more detail throughout the present disclosure, the present disclosure provides technical improvements in computer networks to existing computerized systems to facilitate remitting of resources.
These and other features and advantages of the claimed invention will become more readily apparent in view of the embodiments described and illustrated in this specification, namely in this written specification and the associated drawings.
The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale relative to each other. Like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.
The description that follows includes systems, methods, techniques, instruction sequences, and computing machine program products that embody illustrative embodiments of the disclosure. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of various embodiments of the inventive subject matter. It will be evident, however, that embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be practiced without these specific details. In general, well-known structures and methods associated with underlying technology have not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring descriptions of the preferred embodiments.
A thick line 115 separates this diagram, although not completely or rigorously, into a top portion and a bottom portion. Above the line 115 the emphasis is mostly on entities, components, their relationships, and their interactions, while below the emphasis is mostly processing of data that takes place often within one or more of the components above the line 115.
Above the line 115, a sample computer system 195 according to embodiments is shown. The computer system 195 has one or more processors 194 and a memory 130. The memory 130 stores programs 131 and data 138. The one or more processors 194 and the memory 130 of the computer system 195 thus implement a service engine 183. Additional implementation details for the computer system 195 are given later in this document.
The computer system 195 can be located in “the cloud.” In fact, the computer system 195 may optionally be implemented as part of an online software platform (OSP) 198. The OSP 198 can be configured to perform one or more predefined services, for example, via operations of the service engine 183. Such services can be searches, determinations, computations, verifications, notifications, the transmission of specialized information, including data that effectuates payments or remits resources, the generation and transmission of documents, the online accessing other systems to effect registrations, and so on, including what is described in this document. Such services can be provided as a Software as a Service (SaaS).
A user 192 may be standalone. The user 192 may use a computer system 190 that has a screen 191, on which User Interfaces (UIs) may be shown. Additional sample implementation details for the computer system 190 are given later in this document. In embodiments, the user 192 and the computer system 190 are considered part of a primary entity 193, which can be referred to also merely as entity. In such instances, the user 192 can be an agent of the entity 193, and even within a physical site of the entity 193, although that is not necessary. In embodiments, the computer system 190 or other device of the user 192 or the entity 193 are client devices for the computer system 195.
The computer system 190 may access the computer system 195 via a communication network 188, such as the internet. In particular, the entities and associated systems of
Downloading or uploading may be permitted from one of these two computer systems to the other, and so on. Such accessing can be performed, for instance, with manually uploading files, like spreadsheet files, etc. Such accessing can also be performed automatically as shown in the example of
In one such architecture, a device remote to the service engine 183, such as computer system 190, may have a certain application (not shown) and a connector (not shown) that is a plugin that sits on top of that certain application. The connector may be able to fetch from the remote device the details required for the service desired from the OSP 198, form an object or payload 134, and then send or push a request 184 that carries the payload 134 to the service engine 183 via a service call. The service engine 183 may receive the request 184 with the payload 134. The service engine 183 may then apply digital rules 170 to the payload 134 to determine a requested resource 179, form a payload 137 that is an aspect of the resource 179, and then push, send, or otherwise cause to be transmitted a response 187 that carries the payload 137 to the connector. The connector reads the response 187, and forwards the payload 137 to the certain application.
In an alternative such architecture, a device remote to the service engine 183, such as computer system 190, may have a particular application (not shown). In addition, the computer system 195 may implement a REST (Representational State Transfer) API (Application Programming Interface) (not shown). REST or RESTful API design is designed to take advantage of existing protocols. While REST can be used over nearly any protocol, it usually takes advantage of HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) when used for Web APIs. This alternative architecture enables the primary entity 193 to directly consume a REST API from their particular application, without using a connector. The particular application of the remote device may be able to fetch internally from the remote device the details required for the service desired from the OSP 198, and thus send or push the request 184 to the REST API. In turn, the REST API talks in background to the service engine 183. Again, the service engine 183 determines the requested resource 179, and sends an aspect of it back to the REST API. In turn, the REST API sends the response 187 that has the payload 137 to the particular application.
Moreover, in some embodiments, data from the computer system 190 and/or from the computer system 195 may be stored in an Online Processing Facility (OPF) 189 that can run software applications, perform operations, and so on. In such embodiments, requests and responses may be exchanged with the OPF 189, downloading or uploading may involve the OPF 189, and so on. In such embodiments, the computer system 190 and any devices of the OPF 189 can be considered to be remote devices, at least from the perspective of the computer system 195.
In some instances, the user 192 or the primary entity 193 may have instances of relationships with secondary entities. Only one such secondary entity 196 is shown. However, additional secondary entities may be present in various other embodiments. In this example, the primary entity 193 has a relationship instance 197 with the secondary entity 196 via an intermediary entity 160 using communication 162 between the intermediary entity 160 and the secondary entity 196. For example, the communication 162 between the intermediary entity 160 and the secondary entity 196 may be made over network 188.
In some instances, the user 192, the primary entity 193 and/or the intermediary entity 160 may have data about one or more secondary entities, for example via relationship instances of the user 192 or primary entity with the secondary entity 196. The primary entity 193, the intermediary entity 160, and/or the secondary entity 196 may be referred to as simply entities. One of these entities may have one or more attributes. Such an attribute of such an entity may be any one of its name, type of entity, a physical or geographical location such as an address, a contact information element, an affiliation, a characterization of another entity, a characterization by another entity, an association or relationship with another entity (general or specific instances), an asset of the entity, a declaration by or on behalf of the entity, and so on.
In embodiments, the computer system 195 receives one or more datasets. A sample received dataset 135 is shown below the line 115. The dataset 135 may be received by the computer system 195 in a number of ways. In some embodiments, one or more requests may be received by the computer system 195 via a network. In this example, a request 184 is received by the computer system 195 via the network 188. The request 184 has been transmitted by the remote computer system 190. The received one or more requests can carry payloads. In this example, the request 184 carries a payload 134. In such embodiments, the one or more payloads may be parsed by the computer system 195 to extract the dataset. In this example, the payload 134 can be parsed by the computer system 195 to extract the dataset 135. In this example the single payload 134 encodes the entire dataset 135, but that is not required. In fact, a dataset can be received from the payloads of multiple requests. In such cases, a single payload may encode only a portion of the dataset. And, of course, the payload of a single request may encode multiple datasets. Additional computers may be involved with the network 188, some beyond the control of the user 192 or OSP 198, and some within such control.
The dataset 135 has values that can be numerical, alphanumeric, Boolean, and so on, as needed for what the values characterize. For example, an identity value ID may indicate an identity of the dataset 135, so as to differentiate it from other such datasets. At least one of the values of the dataset 135 may characterize an attribute of a certain one of the entities 193 and 196, and/or the intermediary entity 160 as indicated by arrows 199. (It should be noted that the arrows 199 describe a correspondence, but not the journey of data in becoming the received dataset 135.) For instance, a value D1 may be the name of the certain entity, a value D2 may be for relevant data of the entity, and so on. Plus, an optional value B1 may be a numerical base value for an aspect of the dataset, and so on. The aspect of the dataset may be the aspect of the value that characterizes the attribute, an aspect of the reason that the dataset was created in the first place, an indication of whether the relationship instance 197 with the secondary entity 196 is via the intermediary entity 160, an indication of whether a resource associated with the relationship instance 197 is received via the intermediary entity 160, an indication of an identity or other characteristic of the intermediary entity 160, and so on. The dataset 135 may further have additional such values, as indicated by the horizontal dot-dot-dot to the right of the dataset 135. In some embodiments, the dataset 135 has values that characterize attributes of each of the primary entity 193, the secondary entity 196 and the intermediary entity 160, but that is not required.
In embodiments, stored digital rules 170 may be accessed by the computer system 195. These rules 170 are digital in that they are implemented for use by software. For example, these rules 170 may be implemented within programs 131 and data 138. The data portion of these rules 170 may alternately be implemented in memories in other places, which can be accessed via the network 188. These rules 170 may be accessed responsive to receiving a dataset, such as the dataset 135.
The digital rules 170 may include main rules, which can thus be accessed by the computer system 195. In this example, three sample digital main rules are shown explicitly, namely M_RULE5 175, M_RULE6 176, and M_RULE7 177. In this example, the digital rules 170 also include digital precedence rules P_RULE2 172 and P_RULE3 173, which can thus be further accessed by the computer system 195. The digital rules 170 may include additional rules and types of rules, as suggested by the vertical dot-dot-dots.
In embodiments, a certain one of the digital main rules may be identified from among the accessed stored rules by the computer system 195. In particular, values of the dataset 135 can be tested, according to arrows 171, against logical conditions of the digital main rules, as described later in this document. In this example, the certain main rule M_RULE6 176 is thus identified, which is indicated also by the beginning of an arrow 178 that is described in more detail later in this document. Identifying may be performed in a number of ways, and depending on how the digital main rules are implemented. An example is now described.
Referring now also to
In embodiments, therefore, identifying is performed by recognizing, by the computer system 195, that a certain condition of a certain one of the accessed digital main rules is met by one or more of the values of the dataset. An example of the operations of recognizing that a condition is met and thus identifying an applicable rule is shown by flowchart portion 200 of
From what was mentioned in connection with
A number of examples are possible for how to recognize that a certain condition of a certain digital rule is met by at least one of the values of the dataset. For instance, the certain condition could define a boundary of a region that is within a space. The region could be geometric, and be within a larger space and may include political boundaries. For example, the region could be geographic, within the space of a city, a county, a state, a country, a continent or the earth. The boundary of the region could be defined in terms of numbers according to a coordinate system within the space. In the example of geography, the boundary could be defined in terms of groups of longitude and latitude coordinates. In such embodiments, the certain condition could be met responsive to the characterized attribute of the dataset being in the space and within the boundary of the region instead of outside the boundary. For instance, the attribute could be a location of the entity, and the one or more values of the dataset 135 that characterize the location could be one or more numbers or an address, or longitude and latitude. The condition can be met depending on how the one or more values compare with the boundary. For example, the comparison may reveal that the location is in the region instead of outside the region. The comparison can be made by rendering the characterized attribute in units comparable to those of the boundary. For example, the characterized attribute could be an address that is rendered into longitude and latitude coordinates, and so on.
The above embodiments are only examples, and not limiting. For instance, the example of
For another instance, once it is determined that a consequent is to be applied, execution may even exit the flowchart portion 200. Or, as shown, it may be determined that more than one of the digital main rules is to be applied. In particular, operation 286 may give the answer YES such that consequent CT6 is to be applied, and operation 287 may also give the answer YES such that consequent CT7 is to be applied.
Where more than one of the digital main rules are found that could be applied, there are additional possibilities. For instance, the computer system 195 of
In embodiments, a resource may be produced for the dataset, by the computer system 195 applying the certain consequent of the certain digital main rule. The resource can be a computational result, a document, an item of value, a representation of an item of value, etc., made, created or prepared for the user 192, the primary entity 193, the secondary entity 196, the intermediary entity 160, etc., on the basis of the attribute. As such, in some embodiments, the resource is produced by a determination and/or a computation. In the example of
The resource may be produced in a number of ways. For example, the certain consequent can be applied to one of the values of the dataset 135. For instance, one of the values of the dataset 135 can be a numerical base value, e.g. B1, that encodes an aspect of the dataset 135, as mentioned above. In such cases, applying the certain consequent may include performing a mathematical operation on the base value B1. For example, applying the certain consequent may include multiplying the base value B1 with a number indicated by the certain consequent. Such a number can be, for example, a percentage, e.g., 1.5%, 3%, 5%, and so on. Such a number can be indicated directly by the certain rule, or be stored in a place indicated by the certain rule, and so on.
As mentioned above, in some embodiments two or more digital main rules may be applied. For instance, referring again to
In such embodiments, the resource may be produced by the computer system applying the certain consequent and the additional consequent. For instance, where the base value B1 is used, applying the certain consequent may include multiplying the base value B1 with a first number indicated by the certain consequent, so as to compute a first product. In addition, applying the additional consequent may include multiplying the base value B1 with a second number indicated by the additional consequent, so as to compute a second product. And, the resource may be produced by summing the first product and the second product.
In embodiments, a notification can be caused to be transmitted, e.g., via the network 188, by the computer system. The notification can be about an aspect of the resource. In the example of
The notification 136 can be transmitted to one of an output device and another device. The output device may be the screen of a local user or a remote user. The notification 136 may thus cause a desired image, message, or other such notification to appear on the screen, such as within a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and so on. The other device can be the remote device, from which the dataset 135 was received, as in the example of
In an example embodiment, there may be a plurality of relationship instances between the primary entity 193 and one or more secondary entities, such as secondary entity 196. In some embodiments, such relationship instances are between the primary entity 193 and one or more secondary entities, such as secondary entity 196, via one or more intermediary entities, such as intermediary entity 160 using communication 162. Each relationship instance may be associated with one or more respective domains of a plurality of domains. Also, each relationship instance may be associated with one or more respective intermediary entities, such as intermediary entity 160, which handles or facilitates creation of the relationship instance using communication 162. For example, a resource associated with the relationship instance 197 may be received by the primary entity 193 via the intermediary entity 160. In various embodiments, a domain may be a region defined by a boundary as discussed above or may be an entity representing or otherwise associated with the region. For example, the region could be geographic, within the space of a city, a county, a state, a country, a continent or the earth. The plurality of relationship instances may result in a requirement that an electronic reporting document associated with the primary entity 193 be prepared regarding an amount of resources due to one or more of the plurality of domains, that the document be sent to one or more of the plurality of domains and that resources possibly be remitted to one or more of the plurality of domains. The OSP 198 may perform or facilitate such electronic actions.
For example, in one embodiment, primary entity 193 may have a relationship instance with secondary entity 196 and that particular relationship instance may be associated with one or more domains and with the particular intermediary entity 160 through which a resource associated with the relationship instance 197 was received by the primary entity 193 from the secondary entity 196. The association of the relationship instance with the one or more domains may be based on a variety of characteristics including, but not limited to: a relationship of one or more of the primary entity and secondary entity with the particular domain; a location of one or more of the primary entity and secondary entity within or associated with the particular domain; a region or location associated with one or more of the primary entity and secondary entity being within or associated with the particular domain; a previous relationship of one or more of the primary entity and secondary entity with the particular domain; a location of items associated with one or more of the primary entity and secondary entity within the particular domain; a number of relationships of one or more of the primary entity and secondary entity with the particular domain; a transfer of items associated with one or more of the primary entity and secondary entity to or from an entity within or associated with the particular domain; a transfer of data associated with one or more of the primary entity and secondary entity to or from an entity within or associated the particular domain, etc. The existence or identification of the relationship instance and/or one or more characteristics of the relationship instance may be defined or represented by values of dataset 135.
In the present example, the OSP 198 may obtain data regarding a plurality of sources and corresponding amounts of resources received from the sources for each of the plurality of relationship instances. An example of a source of resources received for a particular relationship instance may be a particular intermediary entity, such as intermediary entity 160. Another example of a source of resources received for a particular relationship instance may be the secondary entity 196 directly. Dataset 135 may include such data regarding a plurality of sources and corresponding amounts of resources received from the sources for each of the plurality of relationship instances each associated with one or more respective domains of a plurality of domains. Such data regarding the plurality of sources and corresponding amounts of resources received from the sources for each of the plurality of relationship instances may originate from primary entity 193, intermediary entity 160, secondary entity 196 and/or one or more other secondary entities.
In some embodiments, for each relationship instance of the plurality of relationship instances, the OSP 198 electronically identifies a rate to calculate an amount of resource due to one or more respective domains associated with the relationship instance based on a source of a resource received for the relationship instance and the one or more respective domains. For example, the primary entity 193 may send request 184 to the computer system 195 of OSP 198 for services that facilitate remitting resources due to one or more respective domains. The request 184 may include the existence or identification of the relationship instance and/or one or more characteristics of the relationship instance as part of payload 134. The service engine 183 may then apply digital rules 170 to the relationship instance and/or one or more characteristics of the relationship instance to identify or otherwise determine the rate to calculate an amount of resource due to one or more respective domains associated with the relationship instance.
For example, digital precedence rule P_RULE2 172 may decide that rule M_RULE5 175 is to be applied when a particular condition is met. Digital precedence rule P_RULE2 172 may include a condition that indicates if a particular relationship instance is associated with a particular domain, then rule M_RULE5 175 is to be applied. The service engine 183 may determine that the condition is met due to one or more values of dataset 135 indicating the particular relationship instance and that the particular relationship instance is associated with the particular domain. Thus, as a consequent of precedence rule P_RULE2 172, the service engine 183 applies rule M_RULE5 175. Rule M_RULE5 175 may include a condition CN5 that indicates if a particular source of the resource received for that relationship instance is associated with that particular domain, then, as consequent CT5, a particular rate is to be used to calculate an amount of resource due to that particular domain.
Referring again to
The service engine 183 may then, for each domain of the plurality of domains, aggregate a total amount of resources due to the domain based on the calculated amount of resources due for each relationship instance associated with the domain and electronically prepare a reporting document indicating the total amount of resources due to the domain and an amount of resources already remitted to the domain for the plurality relationship instances. The service engine 183 may then push, transmit or otherwise cause to be sent the reporting document to a system of the domain via network 188 and/or the computer system 190 of the primary entity 193. For example, the prepared reporting document may comprise or be included by the service engine 183 as part of the resulting requested resource 179 and/or notification 136 and the system of the domain to which the reporting document is sent may be a secondary entity accessible via network 188 other than secondary entity 196.
The sample method 300 starts at 302.
At 304, the OSP 198 electronically obtains data regarding a plurality of sources and corresponding amounts of resources received from the sources for a plurality of relationship instances. Each relationship instance is associated with one or more respective domains of a plurality of domains.
At 306, the OSP 198 electronically identifies a rate to calculate an amount of resource due to one or more respective domains associated with a relationship instance based on a source of a resource received for the relationship instance and the one or more respective domains.
At 308, the OSP 198 calculates an amount of resources due to at least one respective domain associated with the relationship instance based on the identified rate.
At 310, the OSP 198 determines whether there are additional relationship instances to process of the plurality of relationship instances. If it is determined there are additional relationship instances to process of the plurality of relationship instances, the method 300 proceeds back to 306 to continue to identify the applicable rate and calculate an amount of resources due for each relationship instance. If it is determined there are no additional relationship instances to process of the plurality of relationship instances, then the method 300 proceeds to 312.
At 312, the OSP 198 aggregates a total amount of resources due to a domain based on the calculated amount of resources due for each relationship instance associated with the domain.
At 314, the OSP 198 electronically prepares a reporting document indicating the total amount of resources due to the domain and an amount of resources already remitted to the domain for the plurality relationship instances.
At 316, the OSP 198 electronically sends, via computer network 188, the reporting document to a system of the domain.
At 318, the OSP 198 determines whether there are additional domains to process of the plurality of domains. If it is determined there are additional domains to process of the plurality of domains, the method 300 proceeds back to 312 to aggregate a total amount of resources due for the additional domain, prepare the applicable reporting document and send the reporting document to the system of the additional domain. If it is determined there are no additional domains to process of the plurality of domains, then the method 300 ends at 320.
In various embodiments, the method 300 is implemented by the service engine 183 of the OSP 198 executing software code based on digital rules 170. For example the decisions at 310 and 318 may be made according to decision diamonds, such as (referring to
The computer system 495 and the computer system 490 have similarities, which
The computer system 495 includes one or more processors 494. The processor(s) 494 are one or more physical circuits that manipulate physical quantities representing data values. The manipulation can be according to control signals, which can be known as commands, op codes, machine code, etc. The manipulation can produce corresponding output signals that are applied to operate a machine. As such, one or more processors 494 may, for example, include a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), any combination of these, and so on. A processor may further be a multi-core processor having two or more independent processors that execute instructions. Such independent processors are sometimes called “cores”.
A hardware component such as a processor may also include programmable logic or circuitry that is temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. For example, a hardware component may include software executed by a general-purpose processor or another type of programmable processor. Once configured by such software, hardware components become specific machines, or specific components of a machine, uniquely tailored to perform the configured functions and are no longer general-purpose processors. It will be appreciated that the decision to implement a hardware component mechanically, in dedicated and permanently configured circuitry, or in temporarily configured circuitry (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and time considerations.
As used herein, a “component” may refer to a device, physical entity or logic having boundaries defined by function or subroutine calls, branch points, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), or other technologies that provide for the partitioning or modularization of particular processing or control functions. Components may be combined via their interfaces with other components to carry out a machine process. A component may be a packaged functional hardware unit designed for use with other components and a part of a program that usually performs a particular function of related functions. Components may constitute either software components (e.g., code embodied on a machine-readable medium) or hardware components. The hardware components depicted in the computer system 495, or the computer system 490, are not intended to be exhaustive. Rather, they are representative, for highlighting essential components that can be used with embodiments.
The computer system 495 also includes a system bus 412 that is coupled to the processor(s) 494. The system bus 412 can be used by the processor(s) 494 to control and/or communicate with other components of the computer system 495.
The computer system 495 additionally includes a network interface 419 that is coupled to system bus 412. Network interface 419 can be used to access a communications network, such as the network 188. Network interface 419 can be implemented by a hardware network interface, such as a Network Interface Card (NIC), wireless communication components, cellular communication components, Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components such as Bluetooth® Low Energy, Wi-Fi® components, etc. Of course, such a hardware network interface may have its own software, and so on.
The computer system 495 also includes various memory components. These memory components include memory components shown separately in the computer system 495, plus cache memory within the processor(s) 494. Accordingly, these memory components are examples of non-transitory machine-readable media. The memory components shown separately in the computer system 495 are variously coupled, directly or indirectly, with the processor(s) 494. The coupling in this example is via the system bus 412.
Instructions for performing any of the methods or functions described in this document may be stored, completely or partially, within the memory components of the computer system 495, etc. Therefore, one or more of these non-transitory computer-readable media can be configured to store instructions which, when executed by one or more processors 494 of a host computer system such as the computer system 495 or the computer system 490, can cause the host computer system to perform operations according to embodiments. The instructions may be implemented by computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of this document. The computer program code may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object-oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk or the like, and/or conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language or similar programming languages such as C++, C Sharp, etc.
The memory components of the computer system 495 include a non-volatile hard drive 433. The computer system 495 further includes a hard drive interface 432 that is coupled to the hard drive 433 and to the system bus 412.
The memory components of the computer system 495 include a system memory 438. The system memory 438 includes volatile memory including, but not limited to, cache memory, registers and buffers. In embodiments, data from the hard drive 433 populates registers of the volatile memory of the system memory 438.
In some embodiments, the system memory 438 has a software architecture that uses a stack of layers, with each layer providing a particular functionality. In this example the layers include, starting from the bottom, an Operating System (OS) 450, libraries 460, frameworks/middleware 468 and application programs 470, which are also known as applications 470. Other software architectures may include less, more or different layers. For example, a presentation layer may also be included. For another example, some mobile or special purpose operating systems may not provide a frameworks/middleware 468.
The OS 450 may manage hardware resources and provide common services. The libraries 460 provide a common infrastructure that is used by the applications 470 and/or other components and/or layers. The libraries 460 provide functionality that allows other software components to perform tasks more easily than if they interfaced directly with the specific underlying functionality of the OS 450. The libraries 460 may include system libraries 461, such as a C standard library. The system libraries 461 may provide functions such as memory allocation functions, string manipulation functions, mathematical functions, and the like.
In addition, the libraries 460 may include API libraries 462 and other libraries 463. The API libraries 462 may include media libraries, such as libraries to support presentation and manipulation of various media formats such as MPEG4, H.264, MP3, AAC, AMR, JPG, and PNG. The API libraries 462 may also include graphics libraries, for instance an OpenGL framework that may be used to render 2D and 3D in a graphic content on the screen 491. The API libraries 462 may further include database libraries, for instance SQLite, which may support various relational database functions. The API libraries 462 may additionally include web libraries, for instance WebKit, which may support web browsing functionality, and also libraries for applications 470.
The frameworks/middleware 468 may provide a higher-level common infrastructure that may be used by the applications 470 and/or other software components/modules. For example, the frameworks/middleware 468 may provide various Graphic User Interface (GUI) functions, high-level resource management, high-level location services, and so forth. The frameworks/middleware 468 may provide a broad spectrum of other APIs that may be used by the applications 470 and/or other software components/modules, some of which may be specific to the OS 450 or to a platform.
The application programs 470 are also known more simply as applications and apps. One such app is a browser 2771, which is a software that can permit the user 192 to access other devices in the internet, for example while using a Graphic User Interface (GUI). The browser 2771 includes program modules and instructions that enable the computer system 495 to exchange network messages with a network, for example using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) messaging.
The application programs 470 may include one or more custom applications 474, made according to embodiments. These can be made so as to cause their host computer to perform operations according to embodiments disclosed herein. Of course, when implemented by software, operations according to embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented much faster than may be implemented by a human mind; for example, tens or hundreds of such operations may be performed per second according to embodiments, which is much faster than a human mind can do.
Other such applications 470 may include a contacts application, a book reader application, a word processing application, a location application, a media application, a messaging application, and so on. Applications 470 may be developed using the ANDROID™ or IOS™ Software Development Kit (SDK) by an entity other than the vendor of the particular platform, and may be mobile software running on a mobile operating system such as IOS™, ANDROID™, WINDOWS® Phone, or other mobile operating systems. The applications 470 may use built-in functions of the OS 450, of the libraries 460, and of the frameworks/middleware 468 to create user interfaces for the user 192 to interact with.
The computer system 495 moreover includes a bus bridge 420 coupled to the system bus 412. The computer system 495 furthermore includes an input/output (I/O) bus 421 coupled to the bus bridge 420. The computer system 495 also includes an I/O interface 422 coupled to the I/O bus 421.
For being accessed, the computer system 495 also includes one or more Universal Serial Bus (USB) ports 429. These can be coupled to the I/O interface 422. The computer system 495 further includes a media tray 426, which may include storage devices such as CD-ROM drives, multi-media interfaces, and so on.
The computer system 490 may include many components similar to those of the computer system 495, as seen in
The computer system 490 further includes peripheral input/output (I/O) devices for being accessed by a user more routinely. As such, the computer system 490 includes a screen 491 and a video adapter 428 to drive and/or support the screen 491. The video adapter 428 is coupled to the system bus 412.
The computer system 490 also includes a keyboard 423, a mouse 424, and a printer 425. In this example, the keyboard 423, the mouse 424, and the printer 425 are directly coupled to the I/O interface 422. Sometimes this coupling is wireless or may be via the USB ports 429.
In this context, “machine-readable medium” refers to a component, device or other tangible media able to store instructions and data temporarily or permanently and may include, but is not be limited to: a thumb drive, a hard disk, random-access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), buffer memory, flash memory, optical media, magnetic media, cache memory, an Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), an optical fiber, a portable digital versatile disc (DVD), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. The machine that would read such a medium includes one or more processors 494.
The term “machine-readable medium” should be taken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, or associated caches and servers) able to store instructions that a machine such as a processor can store, erase, or read. The term “machine-readable medium” shall also be taken to include any medium, or combination of multiple media, that is capable of storing instructions (e.g., code) for execution by a machine, such that the instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the machine, cause the machine to perform any one or more of the methods described herein. Accordingly, instructions transform a general or otherwise generic, non-programmed machine into a specialized particular machine programmed to carry out the described and illustrated functions in the manner described.
A computer readable signal traveling from, to, and via these components may include a propagated data signal with computer readable program code embodied therein, for example, in baseband or as part of a carrier wave. Such a propagated signal may take any of a variety of forms, including, but not limited to, electro-magnetic, optical, or any suitable combination thereof. A computer readable signal medium may be any computer readable medium that is not a computer readable storage medium and that can communicate, propagate, or transport a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
Operational Examples—Use Cases
The above-mentioned embodiments have one or more uses. Aspects presented below may be implemented as was described above for similar aspects. (Some, but not all, of these aspects have even similar reference numerals.)
As an example use case, large companies and jurisdictions are presently beginning to enter into “Voluntary Tax Collection Agreements” or “VCAs”. A VCA may be an agreement between the lodging marketplace entity 560 and a particular tax authority (such as one in the set 580 of tax authorities) for the lodging marketplace entity 560 to collect and/or remit, on behalf of property owners such as primary entity 593, lodging taxes on all lodging stay transactions handled by the lodging marketplace entity 560 that are subject to lodging tax by that particular tax authority. VCAs are established with some, but not all, tax authorities, which causes technical intricacies and problems for a single ERP to timely and efficiently determine and remit such lodging taxes on a continuous basis in real-time. In other words, current ERP applications do not have the technical functionality to timely and efficiently determine and remit such lodging taxes on a continuous basis in real-time due to such technical intricacies caused by VCAs. To solve such technical problems, the tax engine 583 disclosed herein continuously updates rules/logic to account for VCAs, and in conjunction with a license and registration check, determines the appropriate rate(s) and remittances to tax authorities.
Thus, the systems and methods described herein for automated actions for facilitating remitting resources improves the functioning of computer or other hardware, such as by reducing the processing, storage, and/or data transmission resources needed to perform various tasks, thereby enabling the tasks to be performed by less capable, capacious, and/or expensive hardware devices, and/or be performed with less latency, and/or preserving more of the conserved resources for use in performing other tasks or additional instances of the same task.
Operational examples and sample use cases are possible where the attribute of an entity in a dataset is any one of: the entity's name; type of entity; a physical location such as an address; a contact information element; transactions of the entity; an identifier of a specific source of revenue received for a transaction of the entity; characteristics of transactions of the entity; licensure and/or or registration of the entity and/or products or services the entity produces, sells, stores and/or transfers; products or services produced, sold, stored and/or transferred by the entity; types of products or services produced, sold, stored and/or transferred by the entity; a location to which products are sent, shipped or transferred; a location from which products are received; a location of a property owned by the entity; a location of a property owned by the entity within a particular region of other domain; an affiliation; a characterization of another entity; a characterization by another entity; an association or relationship with another entity (general or specific instances); an asset of the entity; a declaration by or on behalf of the entity; and so on. Different resources may be produced in such instances, and so on.
It will be recognized that aspects of
Above the line 515, a computer system 595 is shown, which is used to help customers, such as a user 592, with tax compliance. Further in this example, the computer system 595 is part of an OSP 598 that is implemented as a Software as a Service (SaaS) provider, for being accessed by the user 592 online. Alternately, the functionality of the computer system 595 may be provided locally to a user.
The user 592 may be standalone. The user 592 may use a computer system 590 that has a screen 591. In embodiments, the user 592 and the computer system 590 are considered part of the primary entity 593, which is also known as entity 593. The primary entity 593 can be a business, such as a seller of items, a reseller, a buyer, and so on. In this present case, the primary entity 593 is a lodging operator, which is an individual or business that rents a short-term rental or vacation rental to another entity, such as, for example, secondary entity 596. In such instances, the user 592 can be an employee, a contractor, or otherwise an agent of the entity 593. In use cases, the entity 593 is a seller (e.g., of right or limited license to use particular lodging for a limited time), the secondary entity 596 is a buyer (e.g., of the right or limited license to use the particular lodging for a limited time) and together they are performing the buy-sell transaction 597. The buy-sell transaction 597 may involve an operation, such as an exchange of data to form an agreement (e.g., an agreement for renting lodging). This operation can be performed in person, or over the network 188, etc. In such cases the entity 593 can even be an online seller, but that is not necessary. The transaction 597 will have data that is known to the entity 593, similarly with what was described by the relationship instance 197 of
In a number of instances, the user 592, the secondary entity 593 and/or the lodging marketplace entity 560 use software applications to manage their business activities, such as sales, resource management, production, inventory management, delivery, billing, and so on. The user 592, the secondary entity 593 and/or the lodging marketplace entity 560 may further use accounting applications to manage purchase orders, reservations, bookings, sales invoices, refunds, payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and so on. Such software applications, and more, may be used locally by the user 592 or lodging marketplace entity 560, or from an Online Processing Facility (OPF) 589 that has been engaged for this purpose by the user 592, the primary entity 593 and/or lodging marketplace entity 560. In such use cases, the OPF 589 can be a Mobile Payments system, a Point Of Sale (POS) system, an Accounting application, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) provider, an e-commerce provider, an electronic marketplace, a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system, and so on. In some embodiments, the OPF may be, or be used by, the lodging marketplace entity 560.
Businesses have tax obligations to various tax authorities of respective tax jurisdictions. A first challenge is in making the related determinations. Tax-related determinations, made for the ultimate purpose of tax compliance, are challenging because the underlying statutes and tax rules and guidance issued by the tax authorities are very complex. There are various types of tax, such as sales tax, use tax, excise tax, value-added tax, lodging tax, and issues about cross-border taxation including customs and duties, and many more. Some types of tax are industry specific. Each type of tax has its own set of rules. Additionally, statutes, tax rules, and rates change often, and new tax rules are continuously added. Compliance becomes further complicated when a taxing authority offers a temporary tax holiday, during which certain taxes are waived.
Tax jurisdictions are defined mainly by geography. Businesses have tax obligations to various tax authorities within the respective tax jurisdictions. There are various tax authorities, such as that of a country, of a state, of a municipality, of a local district such as a local transit district and so on. So, for example, when a business sells items in transactions that can be taxed by a tax authority, the business may have the tax obligations to the tax authority. These obligations include requiring the business to: a) register itself with the tax authority's taxing agency, b) set up internal processes for collecting sales tax in accordance with the sales tax rules of the tax authority, c) maintain records of the sales transactions and of the collected sales tax in the event of a subsequent audit by the taxing agency, d) periodically prepare a form (“tax return”) that includes an accurate determination of the amount of the money owed to the tax authority as sales tax because of the sales transactions, e) file the tax return with the tax authority by a deadline determined by the tax authority, and f) pay (“remit”) that amount of money to the tax authority. In such cases, the filing and payment frequency and deadlines are determined by the tax authority.
A technical challenge for businesses is that the above-mentioned software applications generally cannot provide tax information that is accurate enough for the businesses to be tax compliant with all the relevant tax authorities. The lack of accuracy may manifest itself as errors in the amounts determined to be owed as taxes to the various tax authorities, and it is plain not good to have such errors. For example, businesses that sell products and services have risks whether they over-estimate or under-estimate the sales tax due from a sale transaction. On the one hand, if a seller over-estimates the sales tax due, then the seller collects more sales tax from the buyers than was due. Of course, the seller may not keep this surplus sales tax, but instead must pay it to the tax authorities—if they cannot refund it to the buyers. If a buyer later learns that they paid unnecessarily more sales tax than was due, the seller risks at least harm to their reputation. Sometimes the buyer will have the option to ask the state for a refund of the excess tax by sending an explanation and the receipt, but that is often not done as it is too cumbersome. On the other hand, if a seller under-estimates the sales tax due, then the seller collects less sales tax from the buyers, and therefore pays less sales tax to the authorities than was actually due. That is an underpayment of sales tax that will likely be discovered later, if the tax authority audits the seller. Then the seller will be required to pay the difference, plus fines and/or late fees, because ignorance of the law is not an excuse. Further, one should note that sales taxes are considered trust-fund taxes, meaning that the management of a company can be held personally liable for the unpaid sales tax.
For sales in particular, making correct determinations for sales and use tax is even more difficult. There are a number of factors that contribute to its complexity.
First, some state and local tax authorities have origin-based tax rules, while others have destination-based tax rules. Accordingly, a sales tax may be charged from the seller's location or from the buyer's location.
Second, the various tax authorities assess different, i.e. non-uniform, percentage rates of the sales price as sales tax, for the purchase and sale of items that involve their various tax jurisdictions. These tax jurisdictions include various states, counties, cities, municipalities, special taxing jurisdictions, and so on. In fact, there are over 10,000 different tax jurisdictions in the US, with many partially overlapping.
Third, in some instances no sales tax is due at all because of the type of item sold. For example, in 2018 selling cowboy boots was exempt from sales tax in Texas, but not in New York. This non-uniformity gives rise to numerous individual taxability rules related to various products and services across different tax jurisdictions.
Fourth, in some instances no sales tax is due at all because of who the individual buyer is. For example, certain entities are exempt from paying sales tax on their purchases, so long as they properly create and sign an exemption certificate and give it to the seller for each purchase made. Entities that are entitled to such exemptions may include wholesalers, resellers, non-profit charities, educational institutions, etc. Of course, who can be exempt is not exactly the same in each tax jurisdiction. And, even when an entity is entitled to be exempt, different tax jurisdictions may have different requirements for the certificate of exemption to be issued and/or remain valid.
Fifth, it can be difficult to determine which tax authorities a seller owes sales tax to. A seller may start with tax jurisdictions that it has a physical presence in, such as a main office, a distribution center or warehouse, an employee working remotely, and so on. Such ties with a tax jurisdiction establish the so-called physical nexus. However, a tax authority such as a state or even a city may set its own nexus rules for when a business is considered to be “engaged in business” with it, and therefore that business is subject to registration and collection of sales taxes. These nexus rules may include different types of nexus, such as affiliate nexus, click-through nexus, cookie nexus, economic nexus with thresholds, and so on. For instance, due to economic nexus, a remote seller may owe sales tax for sales made in the jurisdiction that are a) above a set threshold volume, and/or b) above a set threshold number of sales transactions.
Even where a seller might not have reached any of the thresholds for economic nexus, a number of states are promulgating marketplace facilitator laws that sometimes use such thresholds. According to such laws, intermediaries that are characterized as marketplace facilitators per laws of the state have an obligation, instead of the seller, to collect sales tax on behalf of their sellers, and remit it to the state. The situation becomes even more complex when a seller sells directly to a state, and also via such an intermediary.
In an example case, the lodging marketplace entity 560 may electronically collect payment from the secondary entity 596 and electronically provide such payment (possibly minus a fee) to the primary entity 593 via network 188. The lodging marketplace entity 560 may in various embodiments be a listing platform accessible via network 188 that advertises property listings for lodging stays and handles transactions for such lodging stays for a plurality of lodging operators or property owners such as primary entity 593. The transaction 597 is an example of a relationship instance between the primary entity 593 and the secondary entity 596. The transaction 597 may also be an example of a relationship instance between the primary entity 593 and the lodging marketplace entity 560.
In some embodiments, along with collecting payment for the lodging stay on behalf of primary entity 593, the lodging marketplace entity 560 may also collect lodging taxes due to one or more domains, such as one or more different tax authorities 581, 582 of respective tax jurisdictions in which the property is located or with which the property is associated. In various embodiments, the lodging marketplace entity 560 may collect such lodging taxes according to a VCA. As mentioned earlier, the VCA may be an agreement between the lodging marketplace entity 560 and a particular tax authority (such as one in the set 580 of tax authorities) for the lodging marketplace entity 560 to collect and/or remit, on behalf of property owners such as primary entity 593, lodging taxes on all lodging stay transactions handled by the lodging marketplace entity 560 that are subject to lodging tax by that particular tax authority. However, the lodging marketplace entity 560 may not have a VCA with all the tax authorities for all the tax jurisdictions in which the property is located (e.g., state, county, city, other municipal or special tax jurisdictions, etc.). The primary entity 593 may also or instead book lodging stays for and transact directly with occupants, such as secondary entity 596, for lodging stays at the same or different properties. The source of revenue for such lodging stays is referred to as a direct listing as opposed to a source of revenue associated with a VCA, such as the lodging marketplace entity 560. In such cases of direct listings, the primary entity 593 may not even be aware of particular tax obligations and associated lodging taxes that the lodging marketplace entity 560 may or may not have otherwise collected (e.g., under terms of the VCA) if the transaction were made via the lodging marketplace entity 560. Thus, with multiple sources of revenue received for lodging stays in multiple different tax jurisdictions each having different tax regulations and rates, for which taxes may or may not have been collected, a technical problem is presented of how to ensure automatic calculation of tax obligations, preparation and filing of tax return documents and remittance of taxes in an accurate and timely manner. This problem is especially exacerbated for property owners with multiple different properties located in different tax jurisdictions, and that each have multiple different listings for short term stays using different listing platforms and direct listings.
To help with such complex determinations and solve such technical problems, the computer system 595 may be specialized device for tax compliance as disclosed herein. The computer system 595 may have one or more processors and memory, for example, as was described for the computer system 195 of
The computer system 595 may further store locally entity data, i.e. data of user 592, of entity 593 and/or lodging marketplace entity 560, any of which/whom may be a customer, and/or a seller or a buyer in a sales transaction in various embodiments. The entity data may include profile data of the customer and transaction data (e.g., including a unique identifier associated with the lodging stay or a source of revenue for the lodging stay) from which a determination of a tax obligation is desired. In the online implementation of
A digital tax content 586 is further implemented within the OSP 598. The digital tax content 586 can be a utility that stores digital tax rules 570 for use by the tax engine 583. As part of managing the digital tax content 586, there may be continuous updates of the digital tax rules, by inputs gleaned from a set 580 of different tax authorities 581, 582, . . . . Updating may be performed by humans, or by computers, and so on. As mentioned above, the number of the different tax authorities in the set 580 may be very large.
For a specific determination of a tax obligation, the computer system 595 may receive one or more datasets. A sample received dataset 535 is shown just below line 515, which can be similar to what was described for the dataset 135 of
In this example, the dataset 535 has been received because it is desired to determine any tax obligations arising from the buy-sell transaction 597. As such, the sample received dataset 535 has values that characterize attributes of the buy-sell transaction 597, as indicated by an arrow 599. (It should be noted that the arrow 599 describes a correspondence, but not the journey of the data of the buy-sell transaction 597 in becoming the received dataset 535.) Accordingly, in this example the sample received dataset 535 has a value ID for an identity of the dataset 535 and/or the transaction 597. The dataset 535 also has a value PE for the name of the primary entity 593 or the user 592, which can be the seller making sales transactions, some online. The dataset 535 further has a value PD for relevant data of the primary entity 593 or the user 592, such as an address, place(s) of business, prior nexus determinations with various tax jurisdictions, and so on. The dataset 535 also has a value SE for the name of the secondary entity 596, which can be the buyer. The dataset 535 further has a value SD for relevant data of the secondary entity 596, entity-driven exemption status, and so on. The dataset 535 has a value B2 for the sale price of the item sold (or in this case the price of the lodging stay).
The dataset 535 further has a value RS that includes a unique identifier that contains or identifies information identifying or regarding a revenue source system for revenue received for lodging stay transaction 597 and the location(s) of one or more properties being rented on the system. For example, the value RS may be or include a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) or a Universally Unique Identifiers (UUID) that identifies a system of the lodging marketplace entity 560 as the source of revenue for the lodging stay transaction 597 and may also identify and/or include data regarding any VCAs that the lodging marketplace entity 560 has agreed to. The value RS may also indicate an amount of particular lodging taxes already collected for the transaction 597 by the lodging marketplace entity 560 under such VCAs. In another example, the value RS may identify the computer system 590 of the user 592 as the source of revenue for the lodging stay transaction 597 in the case of a direct listing. The value RS and/or other data in the dataset 535 may identify a location of the property of the lodging stay for the lodging stay transaction 597 for the tax engine 583 to determine which tax jurisdictions the property is located in, and thus which digital tax rules 570 (including specific tax rates) to apply and determine the overall tax obligation and individual tax obligations due to particular tax authorities 580. The dataset 535 may fewer values or have additional values, as indicated by the dot-dot-dot in the dataset 535. These values may characterize further attributes, such as characteristics of the property, data identifying of or otherwise relating to a license or registration required for the transaction, a date and possibly also time of the transaction 597, and so on.
The digital tax rules 570 have been created so as to accommodate tax rules that the set 580 of different tax authorities 581, 582 . . . promulgate within the boundaries of their tax jurisdictions. In
Similarly with
In this example, a certain digital tax rule T_RULE6 576 is shown as identified and used, which is indicated also by the beginning of an arrow 578. Identifying may be performed responsive to the values of the dataset 535, which are shown as considered for digital tax rules 570 by arrows 571. For example, it can be recognized that a condition of the digital tax rule T_RULE6 576 is met by one or more of the values of the dataset 535. For instance, it can be further determined that the source of revenue for lodging transaction 597 is lodging marketplace entity 560, that the location of the property is in a tax jurisdiction of tax authority 581 that has a VCA with marketplace entity 560, and thus the tax rate(s) to be applied for calculating a total tax obligation for the transaction include those of other tax jurisdictions in which the property is also located that do not have a VCA with marketplace entity 560.
As such, the computer system 595 may produce the tax obligation 579 and tax return document, which is akin to producing the resource 179 of
The computer system 595 may then cause a notification 536 to be transmitted. The notification 536 can be about an aspect of the tax obligation 579, similarly with the notification 136 of
The notification 536 can be transmitted to one of an output device and another device that can be the remote device, from which the dataset 535 was received. The output device may be the screen of a local user or a remote user. The notification 536 may thus cause a desired image to appear on the screen, such as within a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and so on. The other device may be a remote device, as in this example. In particular, the computer system 595 causes the notification 536 to be communicated by being encoded as a payload 537, which is carried by a response 587. The response 587 may be transmitted via the network 188 responsive to the received request 584. The response 587 may be transmitted to the computer system 590, lodging marketplace entity 560 or to OPF 589, and so on. As such, the other device can be the computer system 590, or a device of the OPF 589, or the screen 591 of the user 592, and so on. In this example the single payload 537 encodes the entire notification 536, but that is not required, similarly with what is written above about encoding datasets in payloads. Along with the aspect of the tax obligation 579, it is advantageous to embed in the payload 537 the ID value and/or one or more values of the dataset 535. This will help the recipient correlate the response 587 to the request 584, and therefore match the received aspect of the tax obligation 579 as the answer to the received dataset 535.
Shown is the primary entity computer system 590 along with an associated user 192, the OSP computer system 595, an example resource source A system 604, an example resource source B system 606, an example tax authority system Y 620, an example tax rate database Y 618, an example tax authority system X 624, an example tax rate database X 622, an example reporting document preparation system 628, and an example triple entry ledger system 630. Each of the systems in
In some embodiments, user 192 may be a lodging operator or agent thereof and OSP computer system 595 may determine the tax obligation of user 192 for various different lodging stay transactions for a property of user 192 based on a source of the revenue for each lodging stay (e.g., resource source A system 604, resource source B system 606 or other resource source systems) and tax jurisdictions of tax authorities (e.g., ax authority system X 624 and/or tax authority system Y 622) in which the property is located. For example, resource source A system 604 may be that of a first lodging marketplace entity, such as lodging marketplace entity 560 of
For example, in some embodiments, OSP computer system 595 determines a type of source of the revenue received for the lodging stay and then determines whether the determined type of source is associated with a particular tax jurisdiction in a database, such as tax rate database X 622 and/or tax rate database Y 618, that includes tax rates for the particular tax jurisdiction. The OSP computer system 595 may select the database based on a determination that the determined type of source is associated with the respective tax jurisdiction. The OSP computer system 595 may then identify in the selected database the rate to calculate the amount of tax due to the respective tax authority, such as that of tax authority system X 624 or tax authority system Y 620, for the lodging stay. In an example embodiment, the OSP computer system 595 may perform this operation by electronically extracting, from data received regarding the plurality of sources, a unique identifier associated with the lodging stay and determining, based on the unique identifier, whether the source of the resource received for the lodging stay has a VCA with the one or more respective tax authorities associated with respective tax jurisdictions in which the property is located. For example, such data including the unique identifier may be received from the primary entity computer system 590, the resource source A system 604 and/or the resource source B system 606. Reporting document preparation system 628, (which may in some embodiments be part of OSP computer system 595), may be a system that then prepares and sends to tax authority system X 624 and/or tax authority system Y 622 lodging tax returns for user 192 based on the determined tax obligation of user 192.
In an example embodiment, the OSP computer system 595 ingests revenue and jurisdictional information via network 188 from one or more external sources from which lodging revenues were collected, such as resource source A system 604 and resource source B system 606. In the present example, resource source A system 604 is a system associated with a direct listing of the property with user 192 and resource source B system 606 is that of a third-party marketing platform that facilitates or handles the lodging transaction, such as lodging marketplace entity 560 of Figure, and has a VCA with a tax authority of a tax jurisdiction in which the property is located. The OSP computer system 595 uses the revenue source to identify the applicable tax rates in tax rate database X 622 or tax rate database Y 618 on the revenue stream in real-time. On an interval consistent with the lodging tax requirements of the property's jurisdiction(s) (e.g., each associated with a tax authority such as tax authority system X 624 and/or tax authority system Y 622), the OSP computer system 595 aggregates the total revenue from all revenue streams and their applicable tax rate(s). The OSP computer system 595 or the reporting document preparation system 628 then inserts the calculations, and information, into a digital, or physical, lodging tax return. In some embodiments, the OSP computer system 595 may pull the applicable funds from a customer's bank account, such as that of user 192, and submits the funds and lodging tax return via network 188 to the applicable tax authorities, such as to tax authority system X 624 and/or tax authority system Y 622. Any or all of the entities of
In various embodiments, systems in
At step 2A, the OSP computer system 595 passes source A eligible resource data (e.g., data indicating revenue for lodging stays received from source A) to tax rate database X 622 to obtain an applicable tax rate for those lodging stays based on the revenue for those lodging stays being received from source A. At step 2B, the OSP computer system 595 passes source B eligible resource data (e.g., data indicating revenue for lodging stays received from source B) to a tax rate database Y 618 to obtain an applicable tax rate for those lodging stays based on the revenue for those lodging stays being received from source B.
At step 3A, the OSP computer system 595 uses the applicable rate obtained from tax rate database X 622 to calculate a total source remittance value, such as a total lodging tax obligation value, for those lodging stays in which the revenue is received from source A and the reporting document preparation system 628 populates a reporting document, such as a tax return, with the total lodging tax obligation value for those lodging stays. At step 3B, the OSP computer system 595 uses the applicable rate obtained from tax rate database Y 618 to calculate a total source remittance value, such as a total lodging tax obligation value, for those lodging stays in which the revenue for is received from source B and the reporting document preparation system 628 populates a reporting document, such as the tax return, with the total lodging tax obligation value for those lodging stays.
At step 4, the reporting document preparation system 628 sends the completed reporting document(s) (e.g., the completed tax return documents) to the applicable tax authority system(s) 706, such as those of those of different tax authorities 581 and 582 of
At step 5, the OSP computer system 595 may obtain from the tax authority system(s) 706 the completed reporting document(s) (e.g., the completed tax return documents) that were processed by the applicable tax authority system(s) 706. Such documents may be electronically requested by the OSP computer system 595 or automatically pushed by the tax authority system(s) 706 to the OSP computer system 595.
In some embodiments, prior to or in conjunction with the process illustrated by the sequence diagram that shows data flow 702, a license and/or registration check may be automatically performed by the OSP computer system 595 with the tax authority system(s) 706. The license and/or registration check may be an automated process that verifies that license and registration requirements are being complied with involving the rental the properties and the resources received (e.g., revenue) for lodging stays at those properties. For example, the license requirements may indicate specific lodging operator licensing requirements of the tax authority and procedures for the lodging operator to be licensed and hold and maintain a current license for lodging operations. The registration requirements may indicate specific registration requirements of the tax authority and procedures for the lodging operator and/or property to be registered and hold and maintain a current registrations related to lodging operations. If such licenses and/or registrations need to be obtained and/or updated, the OSP computer system 595 may automatically generate and populate the documents required to do so based on data extracted from the dataset 535 of
There may be instances where a VCA tax rate is applicable and the rate covers some, but not all, jurisdictions within a transaction. For example, this may occur when the property falls within multiple tax jurisdictions and the tax authority for one or more of those tax jurisdictions does not have a VCA associated with the revenue source. In such instances, the lodging tax assistance system 824 determines how much tax is being collected by the revenue source system and what the remaining tax collection balance is, and to which jurisdictions it is due. This information is curated by performing web scraping on publicly available tax agreements (e.g., VCAs), through established relationships with partners or vendors associated with lodging tax assistance system 824 and/or notifications from the lodging tax assistance system 824 user base. In instances where the agreed upon VCA agreement between the revenue source and the tax jurisdiction(s) covers the full tax liability for the property owner, the lodging tax assistance system 824 generates a $0 tax calculation. All tax calculations are aggregated with one another the lodging tax assistance system 824. The sum of all tax liabilities, as well as all relevant metadata, is then mapped on to one or more lodging tax return(s) 812 by a tax document preparation system 826 for all applicable taxing jurisdictions. The appropriate payment amounts are then remitted to all applicable tax authorities of the taxing jurisdictions by the lodging tax assistance system 824.
As part of UI 900, shown is a selectable “Manage Properties” GUI element 920 that, when selected by user 192, provides GUI features for user 192 to manage properties and/or property listings for which lodging tax assistance is requested, such as adding or removing properties from the lodging tax assistance system 824 and entering property information such as property name and location 926. UI 900 may also be used for the user 192 to input other data, such as that of dataset 535 of
Provided as part of UI 900 is also a “Manage Integrations” GUI element 922 that, when selected by user 192, provides GUI features for user 192 to manage integrations of the lodging tax assistance system 824 with other systems, including lodging marketplace entities, such as lodging marketplace entity 560, and tax authorities systems 706, such as those of different tax authorities 581 and 582 of
Shown are lodging tax authority system(s) 1004, such as those of different tax authorities 581 and 582 of
Examples of rates, rules, and logic of the digital tax rules stored in the digital tax rules database 1070 may include, but are not limited to: the ability to input new parameters that should be used in tax determination (e.g. number of nights stayed, size of the property, and nightly rate); the ability to set one or more value ranges, and thresholds, on parameters used in tax determination; the ability to establish tax exemption rules based on taxing parameters and/or threshold logic; the ability to set dates/phases, etc. The digital tax rules stored in the digital tax rules database 1070 may be published into or otherwise communicated to the lodging tax assistance system 824 via an API 1008 of the respective lodging tax system of the lodging tax authority system(s) 1004 by communicating the information over network 188 to a corresponding API 1002 of the lodging tax assistance system 824. The lodging tax assistance system 824 may then store various tax rates in the VCA rates database 904 or the direct listing rates database 806 according to whether or not the tax authority of the respective lodging tax system of the lodging tax authority system(s) 1004 has a VCA with one or more lodging marketplace entities, such as lodging marketplace entity 560 of
As part of UI 1100, shown is a selectable “Lodging Tax Parameters” GUI element 1126 that, when selected by a user, provides GUI features for the user to communicate lodging tax parameters, which may be part of the digital tax rules stored in the digital tax rules database 1070 of
Provided as part of UI 1100 is also an “Active Laws” GUI element 1122 that, when selected by a user, provides GUI features for the user to view, add, update or change, the tax laws currently active in the lodging tax assistance system 824 for the particular tax authority that may be applicable to the lodging tax parameters 1126. In some embodiments, some or all of such tax laws may be stored in the form of machine readable digital tax rules 570 of
Provided as part of UI 1100 is also a “Ledger Activity” GUI element 1124 that, when selected by a user, provides GUI features for the user to view, add, approve and reject ledger activity related to lodging taxes and related transactions in a secure electronic ledger system using a cryptographic hash or protocol, such as the triple entry ledger system depicted in
The lodging tax triple entry ledger system 1202 enables tax authorities, such as tax authorities 581 and 582 of
Using the system disclosed in
For example, the lodging revenue source system(s) 818 may publish entries in the lodging tax triple entry ledger 1210 that reflect amounts of rental property revenue 1204 for specific lodging transactions. For each lodging transaction, the lodging tax assistance system 824 makes an entry in the triple entry ledger 1210 that approves or rejects the corresponding entry in the lodging tax triple entry ledger 1210 that reflects the amount of rental property revenue 1204 for that transaction. The entry in the lodging tax triple entry ledger 1210 by the lodging tax assistance system 824 approving or rejecting the entry of the lodging revenue source system(s) 818 may be signed by a lodging tax assistance system “approve/reject” hash 1206 of the entry. The lodging tax authority system 1004 makes an entry to the lodging tax triple entry ledger 1210 that approves or rejects the entry in the lodging tax triple entry ledger 1210 by the lodging tax assistance system 824. The entry in the lodging tax triple entry ledger 1210 by the lodging tax authority system 1004 approving or rejecting the entry of the by the lodging tax assistance system 824 may be signed by a lodging tax authority system “approve/reject” hash 1208 of the entry. Also, for each lodging transaction, the lodging tax authority system 1004 make an entry in the lodging tax triple entry ledger 1210 that approves or rejects the corresponding entry in the lodging tax triple entry ledger system 1210 that reflects the amount of rental property revenue 1204 for that transaction. In some embodiments, once the entries in the lodging tax triple entry ledger 1210 that reflect amounts of rental property revenue 1204 for specific lodging transactions are approved by all applicable entities (e.g., by the applicable lodging revenue source system(s) 818, the applicable lodging tax assistance system 824 and the applicable lodging tax authority system(s) 1004) an entry may be published to the triple entry ledger system 1210 which indicates that such entries (and associated transactions and amounts) are approved by all such entities. Thus, the triple entry ledger system 1210 facilitates full auditability and transparency across applicable parties.
The sample method starts at 1302.
At 1304, the OSP 598 electronically identifies a rate to calculate an amount of resource due to the respective domain in which the respective property is located based on a source of a resource received for the lodging stay associated with the respective domain.
At 1306, the OSP 598 calculates an amount of resource due to the respective domain based on the identified rate.
At 1308, the OSP 598 determines whether there are additional domains for the lodging stay at the respective property. For example, the respective property may be located in multiples domains (e.g., tax jurisdictions). If it is determined there are additional domains for the lodging stay at the respective property, the method 1300 proceeds back to 1304 to identify the rate to calculate an amount of resource due to the additional domain and then calculate an amount of resources due to the additional domain for the lodging stay. If it is determined there are no additional domains for the lodging stay at the respective property, then the method 1300 proceeds to 1310.
At 1310, the OSP 598 determines whether there are additional lodging stays to process. If it is determined there are additional lodging stays to process, the method 1300 proceeds back to 1304 to identify the rate to calculate an amount of resource due to the respective domain for the additional lodging stay and then calculate an amount of resources due to the respective domain for the additional lodging stay. If it is determined there are no additional lodging stays to process, then the method 1300 proceeds to 1312.
At 312, the OSP 598 aggregates a total amount of resources due to the domain based on the calculated amount of resources due for each lodging stay for each respective domain in which the respective property is located.
At 314, the OSP 598 electronically prepares a reporting document indicating the total amount of resources due to the domain and an amount of resources already remitted to the domain for one or more of the plurality of lodging stays.
At 316, the OSP 598 electronically sends, via computer network 188, the reporting document to a system of the domain.
At 318, the OSP 598 determines whether there are additional domains to process of the plurality of domains. If it is determined there are additional domains to process of the plurality of domains, the method 1300 proceeds back to 1312 to aggregate a total amount of resources due for each lodging stay for the additional domain, prepare the applicable reporting document and then send the reporting document to the system of the additional domain. If it is determined there are no additional domains to process of the plurality of domains, then the method 1300 ends at 1320.
In various embodiments, the method 1300 is implemented by the tax engine 583 of the OSP 598 executing software code based on digital tax rules 570.
The embodiments described above may also use synchronous or asynchronous client-server computing techniques, including software as a service (SaaS) techniques. However, the various components may be implemented using more monolithic programming techniques as well, for example, as an executable running on a single CPU computer system, or alternatively decomposed using a variety of structuring techniques known in the art, including but not limited to, multiprogramming, multithreading, client-server, or peer-to-peer, running on one or more computer systems each having one or more CPUs. Some embodiments may execute concurrently and asynchronously, and communicate using message passing techniques. Equivalent synchronous embodiments are also supported. Also, other functions could be implemented and/or performed by each component/module, and in different orders, and by different components/modules, yet still achieve the functions of the systems and methods described herein.
In addition, programming interfaces to the data stored as part of the system controller 210 and other system components described herein may be available by mechanisms such as through C, C++, C#, and Java APIs; libraries for accessing files, databases, or other data repositories; through scripting languages such as JavaScript and VBScript; or through Web servers, FTP servers, or other types of servers providing access to stored data. The databases described herein and other system components may be implemented by using one or more database systems, file systems, or any other technique for storing such information, or any combination of the above, including implementations using distributed computing techniques.
Different configurations and locations of programs and data are contemplated for use with techniques described herein. A variety of distributed computing techniques are appropriate for implementing the components of the embodiments in a distributed manner including but not limited to TCP/IP sockets, RPC, RMI, HTTP, Web Services (XML-RPC, JAX-RPC, SOAP, and the like). Other variations are possible. Also, other functionality may be provided by each component/module, or existing functionality could be distributed amongst the components/modules in different ways, yet still achieve the functions described herein.
Where a phrase similar to “at least one of A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” “one or more A, B, or C,” or “one or more of A, B, and C” is used, it is intended that the phrase be interpreted to mean that A alone may be present in an embodiment, B alone may be present in an embodiment, C alone may be present in an embodiment, or that any combination of the elements A, B and C may be present in a single embodiment; for example, A and B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C.
As used herein, the term “or” may be construed in either an inclusive or exclusive sense. Moreover, plural instances may be provided for resources, operations, or structures described herein as a single instance. Additionally, particular operations are illustrated in a context of specific illustrative configurations. Other allocations of functionality are envisioned and may fall within a scope of various embodiments of the present disclosure. In general, structures and functionality presented as separate resources in the example configurations may be implemented as a combined structure or resource. Similarly, structures and functionality presented as a single resource may be implemented as separate resources. These and other variations, modifications, additions, and improvements fall within a scope of embodiments of the present disclosure as represented by the appended claims. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.
Claims
1. An online platform, including:
- at least one processor; and
- a memory coupled to the at least one processor, the memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform operations including: electronically obtaining data from one or more remote devices over a packet-switched network regarding a plurality of sources and corresponding amounts of resources received from the sources for a plurality of relationship instances, each associated with one or more respective domains of a plurality of domains, in which the plurality of relationship instances are transactions of a plurality of lodging stays on one or more respective properties and the association with one or more respective domains is that each property of the plurality of respective properties is located in one or more respective domains of the plurality of domains; for each relationship instance of the plurality of relationship instances: electronically identifying a rate to calculate an amount of resource due to one or more respective domains associated with the relationship instance based on a source of a resource received for the relationship instance and the one or more respective domains; electronically publishing the rate identification to a secure electronic ledger system using a cryptographic hash or protocol, and that is accessible by a respective system of the one or more respective domains and respective systems of one or more entities involved in the relationship instance; and calculating an amount of resources due to at least one respective domain associated with the relationship instance based on the identified rate; and for each domain of the plurality of domains: aggregating a total amount of resources due to the domain based on the calculated amount of resources due for each relationship instance associated with the domain; electronically preparing a reporting document indicating the total amount of resources due to the domain and an amount of resources already remitted to the domain for the plurality relationship instances; and electronically sending, via a computer network including the packet-switched network, the reporting document to a system of the domain.
2. The online platform of claim 1 in which the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to perform operations including:
- for each lodging stay of the plurality of lodging stays: for each respective domain in which the respective property is located: electronically identifying a rate to calculate an amount of resource due to the respective domain in which the respective property is located based on a source of a resource received for the lodging stay associated with the respective domain; and calculating an amount of resource due to the respective domain based on the identified rate; and
- for each domain of the plurality of domains: aggregating a total amount of resources due to the domain based on the calculated amount of resources due for each lodging stay for each respective domain in which the respective property is located; electronically preparing a reporting document indicating the total amount of resources due to the domain and an amount of resources already remitted to the domain for one or more of the plurality of lodging stays; and electronically sending, via the computer network, the reporting document to the system of the domain.
3. The online platform of claim 2, in which the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to perform operations including:
- for each domain of the plurality of domains: after electronically sending the reporting document to the domain, electronically remitting a balance of resources due to the domain based on the amount of resources already remitted to the domain subtracted from the total amount of resources due to the domain.
4. The online platform of claim 2, in which the electronically identifying the rate to calculate the amount of resource due to the respective domain in which the respective property is located includes:
- determining a type of the source of the resource received for the lodging stay;
- determining whether the determined type of source is associated with the respective domain in a database that includes tax rates for the respective domain;
- selecting the database based on a determination that the determined type of source is associated with the respective domain; and
- identifying in the database the rate to calculate the amount of resource due to the respective domain for the lodging stay.
5. The online platform of claim 4 in which the determining the type of source includes:
- electronically extracting, from the data regarding the plurality of sources, a unique identifier associated with the lodging stay; and
- determining, based on the unique identifier, whether the source of the resource received for the lodging stay is associated with a voluntary tax collection agreement with the one or more respective domains.
6. The online platform of claim 4 in which the determining the type of source includes:
- electronically extracting, from the data regarding the plurality of sources, a unique identifier associated with the lodging stay; and
- determining, based on the unique identifier, that the source of the resource received for the lodging stay is not associated with a voluntary tax collection agreement with the one or more respective domains.
7. The online platform of claim 6 in which the source of the resource received for the lodging stay that is not associated with a voluntary tax collection agreement is a direct booking with an owner of the respective property.
8. The online platform of claim 2, in which the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to perform operations including:
- electronically publishing the calculation of the amount of resource due for each domain for each lodging stay to the secure electronic ledger system using the cryptographic hash or protocol, in which the secure electronic ledger system is accessible by the respective system of each domain and the respective systems of one or more entities involved in the plurality of transactions.
9. The online platform of claim 2, in which the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to perform operations including:
- electronically publishing the aggregation of the total amount of resources due for each domain to the secure electronic ledger system using the cryptographic hash or protocol, in which the secure electronic ledger system is accessible by the respective system of each domain and respective systems of one or more entities involved in the plurality of transactions.
10. The online platform of claim 2, in which the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to perform operations including:
- electronically publishing the preparation and sending of the reporting document to the secure electronic ledger system using the cryptographic hash or protocol, in which the secure electronic ledger system is accessible by the respective system of each domain and the respective systems of one or more entities involved in the plurality of transactions.
11. The online platform of claim 2, in which the computer-executable instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, further cause the at least one processor to perform operations including:
- electronically publishing the electronic remittance of the balance of resources due for each domain to the secure electronic ledger system using the cryptographic hash or protocol, in which the secure electronic ledger system is accessible by the respective system of each domain and the respective systems of one or more entities involved in the plurality of transactions.
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Type: Grant
Filed: Sep 22, 2020
Date of Patent: Jun 28, 2022
Assignee: Avalara, Inc. (Seattle, WA)
Inventors: Andrew Brandon Chan (Chapel Hill, NC), Danielle Lear (Denver, CO), Brian K. Mason (Castle Rock, CO), Andrew Z. Fountain (Seattle, WA), Patrick Collins Chesser (Denver, CO), Patrick J. Hampton (Littleton, CO), David A. Goldstein (Castle Rock, CO)
Primary Examiner: Sara C Hamilton
Application Number: 17/028,912
International Classification: G06Q 30/04 (20120101); G06Q 30/02 (20120101); G06Q 20/14 (20120101); G06Q 20/40 (20120101); G06Q 20/38 (20120101); G06Q 40/00 (20120101);
